‘Our primary goal,” says Yossi Levi, CEO of the Netzah Yehuda organization, “is first to normalize the idea of IDF service in haredi society.
“Our second goal is to bring tens of thousands of haredim into combat units, thereby releasing reservist soldiers from duty and integrating tens of thousands of haredim into the Israeli economy, which will enable them to lead successful lives.”
If anyone is qualified to speak about combining a haredi lifestyle with IDF service, it is the 34-year-old Jerusalem native. Levi was born and raised in a haredi family. Growing up, he studied at haredi educational institutions, including the prestigious Mir Yeshiva. In 2009, he enlisted in the Kfir Brigade of the Nahal Haredi, the IDF’s first all-haredi unit. He served as an infantry soldier and officer in various command roles and, during the Israel-Hamas War, became the first haredi battalion commander in the IDF.
The organization, which was initially known as Nahal Haredi, today goes by the name Netzah Yehuda.
In 2018, Levi was appointed CEO of the Netzah Yehuda organization, the founding body of haredi enlistment tracks in the IDF. The organization supports the integration of ultra-Orthodox soldiers while preserving their religious identity and provides post-service educational and professional support.
Levi’s personal experiences in the IDF reflect the lifestyle and experiences of many haredi soldiers. Entering the IDF, he did not do so out of a rejection of the haredi lifestyle. Instead, he wanted to combine IDF service with the haredi way of life. “Without Netzah Yehuda, there was no option for me to go to the IDF, because as a haredi, the only option for me was to serve in a unit where I would receive haredi values, with people like me.”
After several months of basic training, Levi realized he needed to understand the IDF’s values and ethics, the mental and physical preparation required to serve, and the importance of defending and protecting his country.
Recalling the beginnings of his service, he says, “Initially, my parents were really opposed to it. But after the first year, when they saw that I was still haredi, they supported me.”
He quickly progressed from communications operator to platoon commander, then to company commander, and finally to deputy battalion commander, before reaching his current position. Levi participated in multiple military campaigns, including operations Pillar of Cloud, Protective Edge, and Shield and Arrow. He will soon return to IDF service for a reserve stint lasting several months.
In his role as CEO of the Netzah Yehuda organization, Levi oversees its efforts to accompany and assist the haredi Netzah Yehuda soldiers – who are currently serving throughout the branches of the IDF, including the Kfir, Givati, and Paratroopers brigades, the Israel Air Force, and in noncombat roles – in all aspects of their lives.
The Netzah Yehuda organization provides spiritual and religious guidance from rabbis and advisers, housing for lone soldiers whose haredi families have rejected them and no longer want them living in their homes, preparatory programs for haredi youth before the army, programs that bridge the gap between haredi soldiers and their families and communities, and post-army guidance for the 24,000 Netzah Yehuda veterans who have completed their military service.
Levi focuses on some of Netzah Yehuda’s key features, beginning with the homes for haredi lone soldiers. “There are 250 soldiers who live in 33 lone soldiers’ homes throughout Israel. They are in a variety of different battalions, including Netzah Yehuda, Hashmonaim, Givati, paratroopers, and even in noncombat units. We accept all haredi soldiers from haredi backgrounds, even if they are no longer haredi.”
Another significant component of Netzah Yehuda is its mental health department. “We have 10 professional therapists in the department,” shares Levi. “After the [Israel-Hamas] War,” he continues, “everyone understands why we need it, but we started it before the war began.”
Haredi soldiers are especially susceptible to issues of mental health, he explains, because many in haredi society consider members of the haredi community who join the IDF to be failures. Soldiers must maintain a positive attitude toward their military service, in order to succeed. Levi says that the mental health department frequently identifies additional issues, but once the problem is identified, the soldier has an opportunity to flourish.
The addition of haredi soldiers is critical for Israel’s current and future security needs ‘We are building the next generation of IDF commanders and officers’
Netzah Yehuda soldiers who are in noncombat, two-year military service roles spend their third year completing education or professional training and certificate studies in fields such as electrical work, computer programming, and other disciplines.
After soldiers have completed their service in Netzah Yehuda, they can avail themselves of the organization’s programs for veterans, which include leadership and empowerment workshops that help develop and further their identity; a beit midrash (study hall) in Jerusalem that provides opportunity for Torah study; vocational training and academic preparatory programs; a business and veteran’s association that offers discounts from over 1,000 alumni-owned businesses to Netzah Yehuda veterans; and a fund that gives gifts to newly married couples, for grooms who have served in Netzah Yehuda.
Levi adds that after Oct. 7, the Netzah Yehuda organization began actively recruiting haredi youth to join the IDF. Emulating the National-Religious community, the organization has opened 11 hesder yeshivot and pre-military academies for the community.
“Today, we have close to 500 students in these programs,” says Levi. “Half of them join combat units, and half go to intelligence units.”
Levi speaks of St.-Sgt. Bezalel Kovach, who studied in the haredi Chedvata hesder yeshiva and fell in battle in Gaza in May 2024 – the first graduate from Chedvata to die in the war. Levi says that Kovach was scheduled to begin an officer training program.
“We were very shocked by his death,” says Levi. “He was our first student who died in the war.”
He also discusses the heroism of Benny Weiser from the Netzah Yehuda Battalion of the Kfir Brigade, who rushed into battle on Oct. 7. Weiser bravely fought and eliminated Hamas terrorists and saved a fellow soldier who had been shot in the neck by applying direct pressure to the wound. Weiser has been involved in several battles since then and has fought with distinction.
With pride, Levi shares that two haredi students in the pre-military program received the Israeli Security Prize – an annual prize awarded by the Defense Ministry to individuals who have made groundbreaking contributions to Israel’s security – for their contributions to the campaign against Iran in June 2025.
Levi adds that Netzah Yehuda’s goal is to reach 5,000 students in its hesder and pre-military programs.
The addition of haredi soldiers to the IDF is critical for Israel’s current and future security needs.
“The haredi population in Israel today numbers 1.4 million,” he says. “It is acknowledged that in a few years, Israeli demographics will tilt in favor of the haredi population. If the haredim will not care about the security, the economy, and the unity of Israel, no one will care about it. This is the most critical issue in Israel today.”
The most significant issue in developing successful IDF soldiers in the haredi community, says Levi, is education.
Recalling his own IDF beginnings, he says, “When I came to the IDF, I had little understanding of the values of IDF service. It took me a long time to understand what I was doing in the IDF. The education we give to the students before the army is critical to allow them to be part of the army with the right values – the ethical and spiritual values of the IDF, and the physical and mental preparation. That’s why we invested heavily in the haredi hesder yeshivot and pre-military academies. We are building the next generation of commanders and officers in the IDF.”
Levi will be speaking at the upcoming Jerusalem Post Miami Summit on January 13. There, he will discuss the integration of haredim into Israel’s security and economy.
“We need to bring thousands of haredim into the IDF through hesder yeshivot and pre-military academies, and we need to hire more therapists to address the issue of mental health.
“We’re coming to Miami to find partners,” he says.
This article was written in cooperation with the Netzah Yehuda organization.